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Sations of the Cross with the Dead Sea Scrolls (I-IV)

April 07, 2023

Fr. John Colacino C.PP.S.

Introduction

Ever since their discovery in 1946/7, the Dead Sea Scrolls have fascinated scholars as to their origin and to the individuals and communities from which they come and to whom they refer. Not the least has been the speculations about their relationship to Christian origins and indeed to Jesus himself. Without making any assumptions, the Thanksgiving Hymns used in these Stations, sometimes referred to as the Qumran Psalter, are certainly reminiscent in places of the Suffering Servant poems in Isaiah and indeed the canonical “passion” Psalms themselves. It is not difficult to imagine the early church, if the Scrolls were known to the first Christians, interpreting the Thanksgiving Hymns in light of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection, much as they had the aforementioned biblical texts. And the question must be at least open whether the Lord himself might have prayed them. For all these reasons, the Hymns make for poignant texts to accompany the Way of the Cross. The translation is from Gaza Verses, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Revised Edition (Penguin Books, 20024) @ http://www.beit-nitzachon.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Complete-dead-sea-scrolls.pdf. The Collects are from the 1998 ICEL translation of the Roman Missal.

First Station: Jesus is condemned to Death

V/. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

R/. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Scripture:

Christ was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Rom 4:25)

Psalm

I thank Thee, O Lord,

for Thou hast placed my soul

in the bundle of the living,

and hast hedged me about

against all the snares of the Pit.

Violent men have sought after my life

because I have clung to Thy Covenant.

For they, an assembly of deceit,

and a horde of Belial,

know not that my stand

is maintained by Thee,

and that in Thy mercy Thou wilt save my soul

since my steps proceed from Thee.

From Thee it is

that they assail my life,

that Thou mayest be glorified

by the judgement of the wicked,

and manifest Thy might through me

in the presence of the sons of men;

for it is by Thy mercy that I stand. Hymn 7

Collect

All-powerful God,

in obedience to your will,

your only Son suffered death on the cross

to save the human race.

Grant that we who embrace this mystery on earth

may share the triumph of his redemption in heaven.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever. Amen.

Second Station: Jesus Carries His Cross

V/. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

R/. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Scripture

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” (1 Cor. 1:18-19)

Psalm

By Thy mercies and by Thy great goodness,

Thou hast strengthened the spirit of man

in the face of the scourge,

and hast purified [the erring spirit]

of a multitude of sins,

that it may declare Thy marvels

in the presence of all Thy creatures.

[I will declare to the assembly of the simple]

the judgements by which I was scourged,

and to the sons of men, all Thy wonders

by which Thou hast shown Thyself mighty [in me

in the presence of the sons of Adam]. Hymn 6

Collect

O God,
by the precious blood of your only-begotten Son
you have redeemed the whole human race;
safeguard in us the work of your mercy,
that by celebrating the mystery of our salvation
we may continue always to enjoy its fruits.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.

Third Station: Jesus Falls for the First Time

V/. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

R/. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Scripture

For to be sure, Christ was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you. (2 Cor. 13:4)

Psalm

I thank Thee, O Lord,

for Thou hast upheld me by Thy strength.

Thou hast shed Thy Holy Spirit upon me

that I may not stumble.

Thou hast strengthened me

before the battles of wickedness,

and during all their disasters

Thou hast not permitted that fear

should cause me to desert Thy Covenant.

Thou hast made me like a strong tower, a high wall,

and hast established my edifice upon rock;

eternal foundations

serve for my ground,

and all my ramparts are a tried wall

which shall not sway. Hymn 15

Collect

Strong and faithful God,

look with mercy upon our human frailty,

and stretch forth your powerful right arm

to shield us from every danger.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever. Amen.

Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother

V/. We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You.

R/. Because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Scripture

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness. (Col. 1:24-25)

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